Technical data

Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide Glossary-1
Publication Number: 53-0000518-09
Glossary
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8b/10b
encoding
An encoding scheme that converts each 8-bit byte into 10 bits. Used to balance 1s and 0s in high-speed
transports.
A
ABTS Abort Basic Link Service. Also referred to as “Abort Sequence.”
ACC Accept link service reply. The normal reply to an Extended Link Service request (such as FLOGI),
indicating that the request has been completed.
address
identifier
A 24-bit or 8-bit value used to identify the source or destination of a frame. Refer to S_ID and DID.
AL_PA Arbitrated loop physical address. A unique 8-bit value assigned during loop initialization to a port in an
arbitrated loop. Alternately, “arbitrated loop parameters.”
AL_TIME Arbitrated loop timeout value. Twice the amount of time it would take for a transmission word to
propagate around a worst-case loop. The default value is 15 milliseconds (ms).
alias A logical grouping of elements in a fabric. An alias is a collection of port numbers and connected
devices, used to simplify the entry of port numbers and WWNs when creating zones.
alias address
identifier
An address identifier recognized by a port in addition to its standard identifier. An alias address
identifier can be shared by multiple ports. See also “alias”.
alias AL_PA An AL_PA value recognized by an L_Port in addition to the AL_PA assigned to the port. See also
“AL_PA”.
alias server A fabric software facility that supports multicast group management.
ARB Arbitrative primitive signal. Applies only to an arbitrated loop topology. Transmitted as the fill word by
an L_Port to indicate that the port is arbitrating access to the loop.
arbitrated loop A shared 100-MB/sec Fibre Channel transport structured as a loop. Can support up to 126 devices and
one fabric attachment. See also “topology”.
arbitration A method of gaining orderly access to a shared-loop topology.